From Los Angeles to South Korea, Koreans were tuned in to Saturday night's Dodgers game against Cincinnati.

This wasn't just a baseball game. This was history.

Saturday was about two Korean baseball players doing big things in the Majors on the same field. This was about the Reds' Shin-Soo Choo and Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, proving dreams come true and allowing others to dream, too.

The stars, friends and former teammates would meet on the same field and face one other.

Some 90 Korean journalists were credentialed for the game, which was broadcast live on MBC in Korea. The first pitch was thrown at 10:12 a.m. in Korea.

This was a Sunday special like no other.

"I can confidently say this will be the most-watched MLB game in Korea by Koreans in baseball history. That's without a doubt," said Martin Kim, who works for the Dodgers as Ryu's interpreter and constant companion. "This is second to the World Baseball Classic finals (in 2009).

"This will probably be the most Koreans for a game at Dodger Stadium. It's because of Choo, and who he is and what he's done. Ryu is coming over as a rookie. It's a dream matchup."

Ryu powered the Dodgers to a 4-1 win over the Reds, and Ryu won his ninth game in front of a crowd of 52,675.

He's delivered all season as a rookie, but on this stage, he was particularly good. He seems to pitch even better in the biggest moments.

"I'm not sure about that overall, but my control and pitching was on point," Ryu said through Kim, his translator.

Choo was 0-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout against the rookie Ryu.

This was probably the one day Cuban rookie Yasiel Puig wasn't the most popular player at Dodger Stadium. Fans wearing Ryu's jersey were in abundance on Saturday.

This was the first matchup between South Koreans since Chan Ho Park struck out Choo in the ninth inning of the New York' Yankees 11-4 win over Cleveland in 2010. Park, a former Dodger, was the first Korean to play in the majors.

Fan Kevin Kim, a 29-year-old Korean native who's been in Los Angeles for seven years, attended the game with nine friends. They screamed when Ryu threw a first-pitch strike to Choo in the first at-bat of the game. Ryu eventually walked him in that at-bat, but the numbers weren't the story.

"This is better than the Super Bowl," Kim said. "A lot of Koreans don't like the Super Bowl. This is huge for Koreans. Everyone is here.

You see old friends."

Kim hopes to meet a new friend in Ryu. He said a lot of people mistake him for Ryu, and there is a resemblance.

"People tell me I look like him, and you can see them looking at me," Kim said with a laugh.

Los Angeles has the largest Korean population of any city in the U.S., so Ryu has been comfortable here.

And on the mound.

After the game, Ryu sat in a news conference with dozens of clicking cameras and questions.

After walking leadoff batter Choo, he shook off the nerves and allowed just two hits on one earned run. He was done after seven innings with the Dodgers leading 3-1. Ryu is 9-3 with a 3.14 ERA.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he wasn't sure what to expect on Ryu, whom he saw on video and heard of through scouts. He's known he can count on Ryu in seemignly every situation.

But Saturday was different.

"It just re-confirmed this guy doesn't seem bothered by the moment or get rattled when guys are on base," Ryu said.

It was just after Noon in Korean when Ryu received high-fives from Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke and his teammates for another job well done. He got the best of Choo, and got the Dodgers party started.

And the ratings in Korea surely were a hit. MBC broadcasts games to 18 million viewers.

"Koreans like to party, but not that early. Fans were probably more at their homes or get-togethers at each others' houses to watch the game together," (Martin Kim) said. "For kids, this is two of their biggest idols going at it on the same field. For aspiring athletes and baseball players, it's a great way to know this happened and in a few years more of these matchups will happen."

Ryu and Choo have been busy. They dined together at a Korean restaurant in Los Angeles on Thursday. Asked who paid, Ryu laughed:

"The owner of the restaurant did."

He probably hasn't paid for a dinner since he joined the Dodgers.

Choo and Ryu are celebrities. Martin Kim said he and Ryu had to quickly leave a restaurant via taxi in Toronto "" the Dodgers' most recent roadtrip "" because so many people found out Ryu was there.

"When one of them goes to a Korean restaurant, it's big enough," Martin Kim said. "When both of them are sitting at the same table, it will cause chaos. So it's done in a private room or behind closed doors."

Nothing about Choo and Ryu's performances were done behind closed doors on Saturday.